anathema

American  

[uh-nath-uh-muh] / əˈnæθ ə mə /

noun

• anathemas,
  plural
• anathemata
  plural

1. a person or thing detested or loathed.

   That subject is anathema to him.

2. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction.

3. a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.

4. any imprecation of divine punishment.

5. a curse; execration.

---

anathema British  

/ əˈnæθəmə /

noun

1. a detested person or thing

   he is anathema to me

2. a formal ecclesiastical curse of excommunication or a formal denunciation of a doctrine

3. the person or thing so cursed

4. a strong curse; imprecation

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• anathemas
  plural
• anathemata
  plural

Etymology

Origin of anathema

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin, from Greek: “a thing accursed, devoted to evil,” originally “devoted,” from ana(ti)thé(nai) “to set up” + -ma, noun suffix

Explanation

Something that one absolutely and positively cannot stand is anathema. Garlic is anathema to vampires (ditto for stakes and daylight). So is kryptonite to Superman or a silver bullet to a werewolf. Originally the term anathema comes from the Catholic practice of denouncing a particular individual or idea that was antithetical to the Catholic Church. If done to a person, it excommunicated them, meaning they could no longer partake in the church's sacraments (with presumably pretty poor consequences for the soul.) That's a lot worse than kryptonite.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anathema anathemas

This was anathema to Busby the bluegrass purist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

But amongst MPs in the other place next door, and outside the Houses of Parliament, the idea of continuing to allow aristocrats seats by dint of birth is anathema to many.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

"The path to rebuilding the right can only happen with the broadest possible spirit of unity, without exclusion and without anathema," he writes.

From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025

District Judge William G. Young, a Ronald Reagan appointee, recently pointed out that use of masked law enforcement officers had long been considered anathema to American ideals.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2025

This choice was anathema to Sullivan, who abhorred derivative architecture, but during the meeting he made no objection.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

As he pronounced anathemas on you and your kind, the smile peeked out beneath the sneer.

From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2011

He can insinuate like a violin, wheedle like a clarinet and thunder anathemas like a great bass drum.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Welles-Houseman partnership ended badly, with Welles hurling blazing Sterno heaters at Producer Houseman and howling anathemas at him in that voice of Zeus.

From Time Magazine Archive

The next year, the Patriarch and the Pope officially revoked the mutual anathemas that had been hurled at the start of the schism between East and West in 1054.

From Time Magazine Archive

A protest against the anathemas of Paul was addressed by the doge to the prelates and clergy; and the senate wrote on the same head to all the cities and communes of the state.

From The Power Of The Popes by Pierre Claude Fran?ois Daunou

Related Words

• bane
• pariah